Best Ever Salad Niçoise

So you may or may not know that my husband is from the south of France…Nice to be exact. Home of the Salade Niçoise. 

If you've never had one they are one of my all time favourites…loaded with veg and protein they are the full meal deal.

I made this version the other night for supper. It made enough for us to have the leftovers the next day for lunch. 

leaf lettuce – washed and torn ( this is basically a bed to lay the salad on )
2 cans of white tuna flaked drained
4 potatoes cooked and cut into bite sized pieces ( I cut them raw and then zap them in the microwave)
2 cups green beans cooked & cut in half
2 large handfuls of cherry tomatoes – cut in half
4 eggs hard boiled & shelled & cut in half
1 large red pepper – raw and chopped into small dice
4 green onions – chopped small
kalamata olives – 1/2 cup or to your taste ( we both love olives)
good olive oil – 1/3 cup
1 lemon
honey – 1.5 tbsp
grainy mustard – 1 tbsp
pepper to taste

For the dressing get a large bowl. I always make my dressing in the bottom of the salad bowl, less clean up. 

Zest the skin of the lemon into the bowl. Then add the juice of the lemon, grainy mustard, honey, olive oil and pepper. My husband likes things spicy (there is a double entendre here…but I'm not getting into it ha ha) so I sometimes add in some hot pepper flakes too.

Get out a whisk and mix the dressing until it comes together and thickens up a bit. It'll only take 30 seconds or so.

Toss in the green beans, potatoes, tuna, red pepper, onions and olives into your salad mixing bowl on top of the dressing you just made. I like to add in the tomatoes last so they don't get bruised or too mushy. 

Grab you plates and spread the lettuce on the bottom of each. 

Plate the salad and then add the cut eggs on top. 

Voilà! 

 

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